Hamilton, Riverlands golf, Arapuni

After golf at Huntly we stayed the night at the Cosmopolitan Club in Hamilton - $10 a night for NZMCA members to have a space in the car park which unfortunately  is right beside the railway line so it was a rather disturbed night with 4 or 5 trains sounding like they were running over the top of us as we lay in bed. However the staff were very friendly and I had a night off cooking with us having a simple dinner in the Club. We could have had a shower there if we wanted too but didn't need one having just showered at the golf club.

The next day we headed out to The Base, a big shopping complex out Te Rapa way which we knew nothing about, not being shoppers! We just needed some chemical tablets for our loo and knew we could get them out that way at Burnsco. Well, the Base is a huge complex with plenty of shops. Our eyes were drawn to The Golf Warehouse where we each got a couple of good golf shirts at the hugely reduced price of $9.99 each. Such a bargain! We slightly impaired this big saving by me also buying a pair of trousers and a long-sleeved top and Len getting a light rain jacket, none of which were reduced but we did need them!

The friendly guy in the shop suggested we play at the Riverland  Narrows Course with it's "very fast greens" and even rang to see how busy it was that afternoon. So having started and finished our shopping it soon transpired  that we were again teeing off on a No1, this time a nice Par 3 at The Narrows just south of Hamilton. 

Our sleep spot!

It's a really nice course running along the side of the river which you can't actually see but with interesting green positions, often perched high with sloping sides. And the greens were certainly about the fastest we have ever played - very difficult when there's a slight slope on them! Also rather tricky to navigate our way around the course as it wasn't well signed.

By the time we got to about the 12th green we ended up behind a group of 6 players who we think must have been the tail end of the Men's Competition so we knew we couldn't be let through. However, Mark, a lone player who came up behind us, joined us for the last few holes which I have to say still involved lots of waiting! It started to drizzle on the 17th which was a bit of a shame as it meant we had to put slightly damp bags into our boot.
But it's a great course - a pity it won't exist any more in about 18 months as an Expressway will be running through it!
We were pleased to be able to stay the night in the carpark and although close to the main road it wasn't too noisy.

Coarse fishing with sweetcorn, maggots and worms. 

Today, Anzac Day, and another beautiful blue sky overhead, has been a quieter day with me catching up on this blog in between spending a little time at polluted Lake Ngaroto watching some Wellingtonians (formerly from England) coarse fishing, visiting the rather nice town of Te Awamutu and then travelling across the Arapuni Dam to park for the night in Jubilee Reserve which is nestled  in a liitle, quiet residential area in tiny Arapuni.

Very quiet Jubilee Reserve.